Today, we'd like to share some of the most inspiring posts from the r/Visiblemending community. Members of this group share brilliant methods for repairing clothing and other items, giving them a second life. Some individuals seek advice from more experienced crafty members by posting photos of their damaged items to initiate discussions and discover the best ways to repair them.

Bored Panda decided to reach out to Ekaterina Haak, who shares “The magic of visible mending” on her Instagram profile. Scroll down to find out what we learned about the craft of mending from the expert in this field.

#1 Problem Solved Thanks To Some Little Soot Sprite Friends!

Image credits: gah-bah

#2 You Guys Inspired Me!

Before and after of one of my favorite dresses that had a small stain that bothered me so much that i stopped wearing it. I rose this simple dress from the ashes to make a statement piece I love even more.

Image credits: Master_Tinyface

#3 My 10 Year Old Mended My Jeans For Me

Image credits: LetoTheTyrant

The massive fashion industry shows no signs of slowing down, with clothing production exceeding the actual needs of consumers. It appears that the power to effect change is in our hands, and we should begin with small steps, such as finding ways to minimize the quantity of clothing we purchase. It's essential to resist the allure of tempting offers that encourage acquiring new items at a low cost, even when there's no real need for them.

Why buy new, if very often a small repair is enough to extend the lifetime of our favorite piece of clothing? This seems to be the main motto of Ekaterina Haak, who finds mending solutions for herself and her clients. We have asked her to share with us the inspiration behind starting her profile and her journey into the world of visible mending. We found out that: “Fresh out of communication design studies, with a focus on illustration, I was inspired by the embroidery work I had seen online. The idea of creating art with threads fascinated me, even though I had neither prior experience nor embroidery tools.”

#4 Thank You To Whichever User Suggested This Cat Scratch Patching. Love It So Much!

Image credits: Kootenay85

#5 It Was Either This Or Thousands Of Dollars To Replace The Whole Floor, They Don't Make Tile Like That Anymore

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#6 Patched And Covered A Rip Next To My Jeans' Pocket! It's My First Big Attempt At Decorative Embroidery

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The artist continued: “I ventured into embroidery and decided to experiment by stitching on my own stained t-shirts first. I figured they were already damaged, so I couldn't make them any worse. What can I say? I fell in love with the slow, meditative process. Replacing those stains with tiny cherries and avocados, for instance, transformed what was once a blemish into something delightful. I began sharing my journey on social media, and it wasn't until later that I discovered the term for this art form - visible mending.

Gradually, I started exploring various mending techniques, mending not only my own clothes but everything around the house. The practice extended to include my family, friends, and beyond, driven by the growing demand. Ultimately, it inspired me to establish a mending business.”

#7 Mom Patched A Quilt. Pup Has Been Gone A Couple Years Now, But This Lives On

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#8 He Didn’t Want To Throw This Rug Away Because It Belonged To His Grandmother

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#9 Owl Lost An Eye. My 7yo Asked Me To Make An Eyepatch. Owl Is Now Ready For A New Career As A Pirate

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Next, we wanted to know what Ekaterina believes the key benefits of visible mending are, both from a creative and sustainability perspective. Haak explained: “Visible mending has revolutionized my perspective on both creativity and sustainability. At the outset, I was unaware of the potential to revive cherished yet damaged clothing. Mending wasn't a tradition in my family, which made this realization both enlightening and tinged with regret for the beloved garments I had discarded in ignorance.

One of the key benefits of visible mending is its forgiving nature. When dealing with traditional mending techniques aimed at, for example, making moth-eaten holes disappear invisibly, it often demands a high level of skill, extensive experience, and access to specialized yarn or materials. Achieving seamless, invisible repairs can be a daunting task, even for seasoned crafters!

In contrast, visible mending presents a refreshing and accessible alternative, open to everyone willing to pick up a needle and thread. This accessibility makes visible mending not only an environmentally conscious choice but also a truly joyful and fulfilling one.”

#10 Snoopy Shirt Had A Hole, So I Added A Little Woodstock

Image credits: JayXFour

#11 Patched A Small Tear In My Jacket With A Small Felt Bandaid

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#12 I Fixed My Lamp Using The Stained Glass Soldering Technique, I Was Told You Guys Might Like It

Image credits: Shinylittlelamp

The artist told us more about her personal approach to this craft: “For me, visible mending is also the ideal way to express myself through wearable art. In my creative past, I made various items, but they were often lost during moves to different cities and even countries. Visible mending is different because my work is right there on the streets, in everyday life, and it doesn't require special storage. It's a form of art that lives on through the clothing it embellishes, offering a lasting and approachable means of expressing my creativity.”

Visible mending often involves incorporating artistic elements into repairs. We were wondering how the artist strikes a balance between functionality and aesthetics in her projects. Haak shared with us: “Balancing functionality and aesthetics in visible mending is crucial. For me, a truly functional repair must not only be aesthetic, but durable and sustainable on every level. My goal is to minimize material use, avoiding new purchases whenever possible. With the demand for commissions and a growing mending pile of my own, I've come to value time. Charging per hour, I aim for repairs that are both efficient and beautiful. For that, I carefully assess projects for feasibility, declining those that might be too time-consuming or resource-intensive, especially if I believe someone else can handle them more effectively.”

#13 This Patch Might Bite You In The...rear Pocket Of The Vintage Jeans I Patched. Scrap Of Stretchy Fabric And Sashiko Thread

Image credits: Art_Is_Basic

#14 My First Time Embroidering! I Hid A Bleach Stain Under A Crocodile

Image credits: HumusGoose

#15 My Favorite Overalls Might Eventually Be More Crochet Cotton Than Denim

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Ekaterina’s page showcases various projects. We were curious if the artist could share one of her favorite or most memorable mending stories. Haak said: “There are so many memorable mending stories that have graced my Instagram page!”

“Recently, I had the privilege of repairing the coziest, softest, and longest scarf I've ever held in my hands. As weightless as a cloud, it had become entangled in a bicycle chain and acquired some holes, which I replaced with stars. The craftsmanship that went into creating this scarf was truly admirable. However, it's the emotional value of such items that makes the effort absolutely rewarding.

Then there are the pieces that make their way to my studio from distant places, like cashmere sweaters or vintage pieces from NYC, each with its unique story. There's also the woolen dress from London, which marked one of my first commissions, pushing me beyond the comfort zone of mending for friends and family and into the realm of business.

A personal highlight was mending my own vintage wedding dress from the 1920s. I needed to repair the delicate lace, and to match it, I used my own hair as thread, as no other yarn was fine enough.”

#16 Embroidered A Little Throwback Dino To Cover A BBQ Sauce Stain

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#17 Embroidered On Flowers To Cover Some Paint Splatters

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#18 Covered Up A Bleach Stain With A French Knot Sheep!

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Haak continued: “Sometimes I have the honor of reimagining mending work previously done by others. For instance, take the classic Burberry coat that had been mended by a seamstress but didn't quite resonate with the owner. I was entrusted with replacing a not-quite-invisible patch with embroidery inspired by Paul Klee's art, infusing a completely new character into the piece.

One of the most creative mending projects involved repairing the elbow of a sweater of a fellow female artist. I incorporated visible mending elements inspired by her own artwork, transforming a simple repair into a meaningful collaboration.”

The artist also gave us a sneak peek into the project she’s now occupied with: “One of my current commissions involves creating a field of flowers on a sweater belonging to a remarkable 94-year-old lady. Keep an eye on my Instagram for updates, and get ready to be delighted!”

#19 When We're Not Sure A Blanket Stitch Will Be Enough, We Embroider. Overachievers Unite For Mending Glory!

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#20 My Mom Had A Hole In Her Jeans. Now She Has A Poppy Sticking Out Of Her Pocket

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#21 Covered A Small Stain On My Bra

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#22 The Cats Clawed Up The Side Of The Chair, I Think You Guys Will Like How My Mom Fixed It Up

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#23 My First Decorative Mend! My Partner's Moth Eaten Cashmere Sweater Needed Some Love

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#24 Mended A Couple Of Split Laundry Baskets

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#25 A Sharpie Leaked In My Scrubs Pocket And Didn't Come Out After Several Washes. I Do Work At An Animal Shelter, So I Embroidered A Cat Over The Stain

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#26 Finished!!

These took such a while, but I'm so happy with the end result. I reinforced several thin spots and puckering areas with patches underneath then added lots of embellishments. I like to think of this as my ode to Monet's water lillies.

Image credits: kittyissocrafty

#27 Mending Hole In Jeans With Rainbow Weave + Patching From Behind

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#28 Can't Mend His Bones So I'm Mending His Shirt

My son was in an accident where someone ran a red light and hit him on his motorcycle. three surgeries and a month later I got his personal effects including his Joyce manor shirt. I washed it up and stitched up where the EMTs cut through his clothing.

Image credits: Advanced_Crab8702

#29 Headphone Pad Fell Off - Chrocheted It Back On!

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#30 Upcycled/Patched/Jeans & Ankara

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#31 Heavily Darned 1000 Year Old Tunic From Egypt

The blue and possibly the brocade are "original", and everything else is mending. Some darns match, some don't, and the brown in the middle is quite decorative, but it's darning too. The museum notes indicate that something about the construction suggests this may have originally been an adult garment, which was then cut down for a child. And then mended, and mended again, most likely passed down to someone else and someone else and someone after that. This is YEARS of wear & loving mending, and on a small garment that means no one could have worn it their whole life, so we're seeing the history of multiple people who cared about this garment, and cared for it, and kept using it. Fantastic.

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#32 My Sock Had A Hole In It. My Six Year Old Removed It From My Foot And Mended It. I Think I'll Keep It This Way

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#33 Some Mended Stairs I Came Across

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#34 My Favorite Hoodie Had A Huge Tear In It So I Made My First Attempt At Visible Mending

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#35 Color Changing Thread Is My Favorite For Mending

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#36 My First Attempt. I Had A Rip Going Up The Entire Side Of The Pocket. I Tried Some Darning And Then Some Simple Embroidery. The Pocket Is Still Usable

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#37 Mended A Small Hole In A T-Shirt With Cross Stitch

Image credits: Bluebird_pi

#38 Everywhere There Is Now A Pigeon There Once A Moth-Hole

The pigeons are needle-felted. For the holes that were larger than one or two knitted loops I used extra strong thread to sew them shut before starting the felting process.

Image credits: kautskybaby

#39 A Planter In Ravello, Italy

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#40 Someone Chewed A Hole In The Beautiful Quilt My Friend Made. Friend Sent Scraps, Thread And A Letter For The Offender

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#41 Victim Of A Dog Attack Gets Reconstructive Surgery

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#42 Patched Chair

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#43 This Is How I Repair My Dress

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#44 Squishmallow First Aid

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#45 Fixed The Cuffs Of A Hoodie With Hand Sewing And Crochet

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#46 "Repaired" My Granddaughter's Stick Unicorn

Last time she was here she kept nagging me to fix this little 2 cm. seam opening. So instead of taking the 3 seconds to just sew it back together, I backed it with blood red flannel, added some big black "stitches" over it, then a Velcro band-aid with optional removal felt pool of blood. She'll love it.

The poor unicorn has a hard life & is used mostly as a weapon to bop her big sister, FYI.

Image credits: GrandmainWA

#47 Had Some Rips On These Chinos, As Well As Some Stains - Covered Them Up With Leaves

Image credits: mrfabulousdesigns

#48 I Salvaged Some Over-Distressed Jeans By Sewing Some Doilies In. Someone Suggested I Share Them Here

Image credits: YoureNotAGenius

#49 I Got Hair Dye On My Collar. Oh Well, Mending Time!

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#50 Doggo Got A Hold Of My Favorite Dress So I Tried Visible Mending For The First Time

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For example, colorful sunsets and ancient marble sculptures are often considered pleasing to the eye. Our inner desire for perfection also prefers symmetrical faces that stand out as examples of beauty.

The fact that there might be objectively beautiful things also lets you argue that the opposite can be true—some things can be objectively ugly. The list below is proof of that.

Uglydesign is an Instagram page curated by Jonas Nyffenegger and Sébastien Mathys. When interviewed by Bored Panda a few years back, they said that for them, this account is “an incredible source of inspiration and joy.”

Over the years, the account’s popularity only grew and now they are at 755,000 followers and counting. Scroll down to see the best of the worst of their feed.

#1

Image credits: uglydesign

While as a word, “ugly” has a lot of negative connotations, ugliness itself does not necessarily equate to something that’s bad. A great example of that is ugly cute animals.

From the big-eyed innocent tarsiers to sleepy-looking sloths, ugly cute animals are adored by many. The reason for that is that a lot of them have baby-like features that appeal to our instincts to protect the vulnerable. 

#2

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#3

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But what about those really ugly animals? Like that fish that just looks like a melting face of a chubby man. Does it really evoke our primal care instincts? 

When talking to National Geographic, Hiroshi Nittono, director of the Cognitive Psychophysiology Laboratory at Osaka University, says that it's true, sometimes that's not the case. Rather, they make us experience “whimsical cuteness” that’s a little out of the ordinary. This oddness is funny, which is what makes them so appealing.

#4

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#5

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#6

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Ugliness can also be fascinating. For example, one of the most popular paintings in London’s National Gallery is a piece by the 16th-century Flemish master Quentin Matsys. The image is a portrait of a woman with a disfigured face and is commonly called “The Ugly Dutchess.”

#7

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#8

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#9

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For years, many theorized that this is a piece of satirical imagery, one that is supposed to represent the difference between outside and inside beauty. Her dress is gorgeous and youthful but her face is not. However, in the late '80s, a new theory was proposed, suggesting that she might have had Paget’s disease, which causes malformed bones.

#10

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#11

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#12

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Today, this painting is the most famous work of Matsys and a hit with audiences, at least judging by the Gallery sales of the postcards featuring the portrait, which compare to Claude Monet’s famous Water-Lily Pond.

#13

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#14

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#15

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The concept of ugliness also evolves over time. Something that is perceived as ugly now could be considered beautiful in the future. The most obvious example of that is fashion and beauty trends. One day, high-rise jeans are reserved for moms only, and the next they’re the season’s hottest item. Same can be said for fanny packs, bucket hats, and flared jeans.

#16

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#17

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#18

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Something as majestic and awe-inspiring as mountains also used to be considered ugly. According to Stephen Bayley, the author of Ugly: The Aesthetics of Everything, people used to despise them. “Mountains were once thought disgusting: they were dangerous, frightening and home to nasty demons and bandits.” Certainly not a place you would sing praises to.

#19

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#20

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#21

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The best architectural example of an ugly thing that ended up being admired by everyone is the Eiffel Tower. Many contemporary minds at the time united under the common hate for the tower. Maupassant called it a “giant ungainly skeleton” while Bloy said it’s a “truly tragic street lamp.”

#22

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#23

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#24

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But this “hideous column with railings,” as Huysmans put it, is now admired by many. It is Paris’s biggest tourist attraction and is often the first thing that pops into someone’s head when they think of Paris.

#25

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#26

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#27

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So, maybe ugliness isn’t that objective. Just like the ideals of beauty, the “ideals” of ugliness also change all the time and depend on many variables. Which means that the things on this list might not be ugly for everyone. Except for that flip-flop-shaped fry holder. Everyone agrees that’s awful, right?

#28

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#29

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#30

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#31

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#32

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#33

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#34

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#35

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#36

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#37

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#38

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#39

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#40

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#41

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#42

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#43

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#44

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#45

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#46

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#47

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#48

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#49

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#50

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User ‘Mindless-Charge-5996’ recently told the Reddit community about her wedding day becoming a disaster. What started with the happy couple excited about spending their lives together ended in the bride leaving her own wedding. Scroll down for the full story.

People typically hope for a wedding day to remember, but for some it becomes unforgettable for the wrong reasons

Image credits: Leah Kelley (not the actual photo)

This woman had to leave her own wedding after the groom pranked her

Image credits: Rodolfo Quirós (not the actual photo)

Image credits: brettmartintv (not the actual photo)

The OP provided an update on what happened next

Image credits: u/LucyAriaRose

Shoving cake into your significant other’s face might start the marriage off on the wrong foot

Image credits: Daniel Frese (not the actual photo)

People get married for all sorts of reasons, from seeking to share a surname to wanting to have one hell of a ball. (Surveys suggest that the latter is one of the main motivating factors for over one-fifth of couples out there.) But no matter the reason, it’s safe to assume that they hope for it to be a happy day to remember; the same way they typically hope for the marriage to last.

Unfortunately for the OP, neither was the case in her situation. On her wedding day, things took a turn for the worse when the groom decided to ignore her views and previous experiences and shoved cake into her face—a thing some newlyweds do that he knew she hated. That ensured the marriage didn’t last long, and encouraged the bride to leave her own wedding immediately.

Psychologist and founder of the Private Therapy Clinic Dr. Becky Spelman pointed out that when it comes to the wedding cake smash, it’s crucial to make sure both of the newlyweds are on the same page about it. “You don’t want to start your marriage off on the wrong foot, so it’s important to chat through the idea and only go ahead with it if your partner offers their enthusiastic consent,” she told Metro.co.uk.

Dr. Spelman also suggested that a cake smash happening without mutual agreement or when one of the parties feels uncomfortable about it could potentially indicate issues related to control, disrespect, or disregard for boundaries.

Such a tradition can be not only humiliating but costly, too

Image credits: Rina Mayer (not the actual photo)

The founder of Sincerely Nicole Media, Valese Jones, who has previously denounced the cake trend on her X (formerly Twitter) account, seconded the idea that such a tradition steps over certain boundaries. She told GLAMOUR that, “Men who get joy out of humiliating their wives under the guise of it being a joke tend to lack respect for women as humans. They don’t care about boundaries and I’ve often seen them diminish anything their wife-to-be cares about.”

Valese also emphasized that brides often spend months if not more planning their looks, which are then ruined in one swift—sometimes far from gentle as well—motion. And it’s not only humiliating, but expensive as well, as everything from hair and makeup to the wedding cake itself can be pretty costly; not to mention the dress, which was also ruined in the OP’s case.

The Knot’s 2022 survey of nearly 12,000 happy couples revealed that roughly four-in-five of them hired a professional to bake the cake for their big day. The Knot also unveiled that the average price for such a custom-made treat last year reached just over 500 dollars; a similar price to what the OP had to pay for her and her now former—thanks to the stunt—partner.

But it’s arguably safe to assume that in the redditor’s situation, as in most similar ones, it wasn’t about the money. The worst part was likely the fact that the groom knew how his partner felt about the tradition and chose to continue with it nevertheless. That was one of the many reasons fellow redditors expressed concern and showed support for the OP in the comments.

Redditors shared their thoughts and reactions in the comments

The bride shared one final update with fellow netizens

So one netizen was curious to hear what were some of the most unhinged things managers had ever heard a customer or coworker complain about an employee. So if you have worked in a customer-facing job, or have just had some strange colleagues, prepare for some unfortunate flashbacks and get comfortable. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts and share your own thoughts and experiences in the comments section below. 

#1

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#2

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In a money-driven world, some people forget that just because you are parting with your hard-earned cash, doesn’t mean you are entitled to anything and everything. You wouldn't throw a fit if someone who has to just hand you a coffee wasn’t smiling. And if you would, I would suggest you reevaluate a significant part of your life. 

Other examples here range closer to traditional definitions of paranoia. For example, the chance that a retail employee could and would curse you is near zero. Of course, if someone really was a wizard, witch, warlock, or any other flavor of mystic, why would they be working at, for example, Best Buy? Similarly, if these people have such arcane power, what exactly do you think a complaint to a manager will do? 

#3

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#4

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#5

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More often than not, the real issue is entitlement, not delusions and spellcasting. Customers seem to believe their word is law and everything from the shape of the glass to the demeanor of a worker can be adjusted to their will. We all have our preferences, but fortunately, the vast majority of us don’t believe that what we want is so dominant that we would go talk to a manager about it. Some people’s greatest battles, it seems, are with delusions. 

#6

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#7

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#8

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Anyone who has worked with enough customers will know that there is a sizable subset of people who really just want to talk. The more “clever” in this cohort understand that making a complaint is one of the rare cases where a customer service representative will not just drop the call. So they concoct the most outlandish complaints, arguments, and weird suggestions just to hear a voice on the other end.  

#9

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#10

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#11

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This, for those who have thankfully avoided such roles, is still a decent situation, compared to the humans that can only be described as a smoldering volcano or rage. Some people have a deep, perhaps innate, desire to shout, scream, and make their power known. Perhaps unable to do it anywhere else, they pick workers as a target. 

#12

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#13

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#14

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The truly weird cases are the complaints from coworkers. Unlike random customers, these people know enough to understand what is normal or not. But it just goes to show that the unhinged folk many customer-facing workers meet also have to work somewhere. If all this work-related talk has put you in the mood for something more lighthearted, Bored Panda has got you covered, check out our article on unhinged work memes. 

#15

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#16

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Miriam’s life changed in 2012 when her 20-year-old daughter Karen disappeared

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Back in 2012, the life of one family was about to take a tragic change. Karen Alejandra Salinas Rodríguez, a beautiful and vivacious 20-year-old college student, vanished without a trace. Her family was devastated, hoping to find her as soon as possible. The first 48 hours are crucial in any missing person’s case. After that, the chances to find them alive significantly decline. And 48 hours without knowing where your loved one is seems like an eternity.

When such tragedy strikes, everyone expects help from trained professionals. Unfortunately, the authorities let Karen’s family down. As days turned into weeks without answers, Karen’s mom, Miriam, decided that she couldn’t just sit and wait around for a miracle. Her beloved child was somewhere out there, and she was determined to find her.

After hours of research, Miriam made a chilling discovery – the trail of her daughter’s disappearance led straight to one of Mexico’s most dangerous cartels, “Los Zetas”. Most people would turn around and give up on pursuing it further, but not Miriam. She delved deeper and deeper into the criminal world, using fake identities and smart disguises. In the movies, it is exciting and thrilling. In real life, it’s life-threatening.

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Frustrated with the inactivity of authorities, she decided that she couldn’t just sit and wait around and decided to search on her own

Image credits: That’s What People Do

As her investigation continued, Miriam was able to narrow down her search to a small handful of gang members. She believed that they were responsible for her daughter’s kidnapping. The determined mother started building a case against them, making sure she had enough evidence to get justice for Karen.

Careful and calculating, like a professional detective on a vengeful quest, she managed to coerce one of the gang members into revealing her daughter’s whereabouts. With a glimmer of hope, she rushed to find her daughter. Tragically, she was too late. Her baby girl was already gone. It was unfair, it wasn’t supposed to happen. Karen should’ve returned home to her mom; Miriam should’ve seen her walk down the aisle and play with her grandchildren. No parent should bury their children.

This discovery seemed like the end of the road – there was no hope and no joy left after Karen’s passing. The unfairness of the world hit Miriam hard. But she refused to surrender – her daughter deserved justice and those who took the 20-year-old’s life deserved to rot behind bars instead of walking freely. Her quest to find her daughter turned into a quest for justice. Hell hath no fury like a mother who just lost her child.

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Sadly, she discovered that her daughter had passed away

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Image credits: That’s What People Do

If anyone has seen the movie “Taken”, they know how intense a pursuit can be. Miriam Rodriguez was no Liam Neeson, she had no special CIA training, she was just an ordinary woman. She knew who the culprits were, and she tracked them one by one. One night, in a dark alleyway, she cornered one of the gang members and threatened him with a gun: “If you move, I’ll shoot you.”

Miriam did not believe in an eye for eye; she wasn’t going to take the life of a human being. But she wanted them to pay the price. Most of them did – thanks to her relentless pursuit, ten members of “Los Zetas” were captured. It can take years for police to catch one, let alone ten of them, so this is a remarkable feat for a grieving mother.

Unfortunately, this story has no happy ending and Miriam paid the ultimate price for her heroic mission. In a cruel twist of fate, on the beautiful holiday of Mother’s Day in 2017, Miriam lost her life. She was closing in on one of her last targets and her quest was about to end. The brave mother was shot 12 times in front of her own home in an unimaginable act of violence.

Determined to get justice, she tracked gang members one by one, like a protagonist in a thriller

Image credits: That’s What People Do

She managed to put ten culprits behind bars. But when she was closing on the last one, she lost her life

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Miriam’s story continues to inspire many people facing similar situations. There is no stronger force than a mother’s love

Image credits: That’s What People Do

Perhaps Miriam could feel the cold grip of the Grim Reaper closing in on her. She said in an interview with the New York Times, “I don’t care if they kill me. I died the day they killed my daughter. I want to end this. I’m going to take out the people who hurt my daughter, and they can do whatever they want to me.”

Her efforts did not go unnoticed. In San Fernando, the city where she lived, a bronze plaque was erected to commemorate her extraordinary mission. Sadly, she lost her life, but her spirit is strong and brings courage and inspiration to those facing adversity.

Hopefully, Miriam is now at peace and holding her beautiful daughter tight. She can rest knowing that justice has been served. Her story touched many people – especially mothers. Many of them said they would do the same for their children, proving that there is no stronger bond than the one between a mom and her child.

What do you think of this story?

The comments were full of love and admiration for this brave mum’s courage and determination

On top of that, healthcare in the country is very expensive. According to a government website, if you break your leg, you could end up with a bill for $7,500. If you need to stay in the hospital for three days, it will probably cost about $30,000.

And Lex Hinkley has a problem with this system. After witnessing how it operates from the inside, the 27-year-old nurse based in San Diego recently turned to social media to share why she thinks America needs to “completely dismantle” its current model.

More info: Instagram | TikTok

27-year-old nurse Lex Hinkley recently shared her frustration with the American healthcare system, and explained why she thinks all the for-profits have to go

Image credits: travelingnurse

“It is virtually impossible to be a ethical healthcare worker in this extremely unethical healthcare system.”

“The amount of times I’ve had to discharge patients back to situations where I knew they weren’t going to be able to take care of themselves but I had no other options is truly too high to even give a number to.”

Image credits: wanderrlex

“If my career as a healthcare worker has done anything to my worldview or life it has simply radicalized me further than anyone could believe.”

“But more so than anything else, I know in my heart that there is no way, shape, or form that we improve our society as a whole without completely dismantling ‘for profit’ healthcare.”

Image credits: travelingnurse

“I’m gonna share with you guys a story that is so beyond f**king disgusting and yet completely unsurprising, and I have seen varying levels of this happen at every single hospital I have worked at.”

“I’ve been a nurse for four years. I’ve worked in seven states. It is happening everywhere, and if you think your hospital is different, you’re f**king wrong.”

Image credits: travelingnurse

“Recently, and I mean as of December, hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky came under fire for leaving patients outside on f**king sidewalks.”

“They do this in front of shelters, they will drop patients off in front of shelters just like this. But sometimes they don’t even take them to the shelter, they literally leave them right outside the hospital.”

Image credits: travelingnurse

“This specific patient was left in this condition in 36 degree weather. The whistleblower who brought this to the media was a female employee, presumably a healthcare worker, at this hospital, and she said she sees this a lot.”

“This reporter said, ‘So I started watching and on December 16th at 7 p.m., 35 degrees outside, I recorded three security guards surrounding an elderly woman with a walker and slowly escorting her out of the emergency room.'”

Image credits: travelingnurse

“In order to understand what could potentially lead to a situation like this, we need to know two things.”

“One, the United States has a law called EMTALA, which basically says that healthcare workers in emergency rooms and hospitals have to, at the very least, stabilize patients. Meaning, make sure they’re not actively dying before discharging them.”

“The second thing you need to understand is that when you defund social programs, it all ends up in the ER. When you defund senior care, when you defund psychiatric care, when you defund shelters, whether it’s homeless shelters, woman’s shelters, when you defund the safety nets that our society needs to prevent people from beginning a crisis downward spiral, they end up in the ER.”

Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)

“And simply put, ER workers and hospital workers are already at their f**king wit’s end. We cannot act as a catch-all for every single issue in society, and yet, we are. Here we are doing it. And at the very f**king same time, treating people like literal f**king garbage? Should never f**king happen. Should never f**king happen, and yet I understand what caused that situation to occur.”

“Because I’m sure that in a red state like Kentucky, those social programs are even worse funded than in the states that I’ve worked in. So these people, and by these people I mean patients, healthcare workers, and their bosses, have no f**king options. Meanwhile, the executives of that hospital are probably f**king out on a trip in the Caribbean on their 7th yacht.”

“The only way to fix this, the only way to fix situations as unethical and disgusting as this from happening is to fund solutions. We need to fund proper safety nets for our society.”

Image credits: travelingnurse

“In this country, if you lose your job, you lose your health insurance, you potentially lose all of your income, which means you’re not going to be able to pay rent. Well, then what happens if you get sick? Do you see what I’m saying? We don’t have safety nets for our poor in this country.”

“We have a greased chute. And at the very bottom of that greased chute of poverty is a trip to your local emergency room. Because everything ends up in the ER. And then we have nowhere to place people. We have no way to help people.”

“And so people in that position get frustrated because they feel like they can’t f**king do anything and they’re being expected to have the answers for a very f**ked up system. They’re having to answer for all of these executives, these corporate executives who have privately funded their own bank accounts instead of publicly funding our communities.”

Image credits: Natanael Melchor (not the actual photo)

“So while it is f**king disgusting and inexcusable for any healthcare worker to treat a human being like that, I am telling you, society, you and me, right now, we’re levelling with each other.”

“The only way to avoid that s**t happening is to fund social programs. We have to fund elder care, we have to fund psychiatric care, we have to actually develop systems to help unhoused people.”

“Look at what the mayor of Detroit has done. There are options. There are solutions for these problems, but they cost money. They cost money. And we, as a society, have said that we’re a-okay with 400 people having 70 percent of the nation’s wealth, while our community members get treated like this.”

Hinkley’s emotional rant has since gone viral

@travelingnurse #healthcare ♬ original sound – lex RN BSN

A majority of Americans agree with her

Among the public, 63% of U.S. adults say the government has the responsibility to provide health care coverage for all.

When asked how that should be achieved, 36% of Americans say a single national government program is the answer, while 26% say it should continue to be a mix of private insurance companies and government programs.

Interestingly, a 54% majority of Democrats and Democratic leaners now favor a single national government program to provide health insurance, while among Republicans and Republican leaners, a 66% majority says the government does not have the responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care coverage.

Image credits: Cedric Fauntleroy (not the actual photo)

The United States trails far behind other high-income countries on healthcare

In 2021, the Commonwealth Fund took upon itself to assess the health care system performance in 11 high-income countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The organization analyzed 71 performance measures across five domains — access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes — drawn from Commonwealth Fund international surveys conducted in each country and administrative data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Health Organization.

The results showed that the top-performing countries overall are Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia. The United States ranks last, despite spending far more of its gross domestic product on health care. The U.S. ranks last on access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes, but second on measures of care process.

Four features distinguish top-performing countries from
the United States:

• they provide for universal coverage and remove cost barriers;
• they invest in primary care systems to ensure that high-value services are equitably available in all communities to all people;
• they reduce administrative burdens that divert time, efforts, and spending from health improvement efforts;
• they invest in social services, especially for children and working-age adults.

So it sounds like nurse Hinkley’s take is right on the money.

Hinkley’s clip has received a lot of reactions, including similar stories

Well, and it’s not such a rare thing that employees choose their family or their well-being instead of their work.

More info: Reddit 

Approving and then canceling days off – that’s one of the worst things that a manager can do

Image credits: Cytonn Photography (not the actual photo)

This woman is lost after getting denied 2 weeks off that were approved for her mom’s funeral

Image credits: vanluvsyou

Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)

She shares that she put in a request for paid 2 weeks off to the manager, stating in the email that she would be out of town, and they were approved

Image credits: vanluvsyou

Image credits: Leeloo Thefirst (not the actual photo)

Approximately a month later, the woman was called into the manager’s office and informed that her days off had been canceled due to the company being understaffed

Image credits: vanluvsyou

After an unsuccessful negotiation, she just said that she would go to the funeral and walked out of the office knowing that she would be laid off

A few days ago, one Reddit user shared her story to one of the communities, confused after her manager approved her days off that were meant for her mom’s funeral and cancelled them a month later. The post received a lot of attention, support, and discussions as in just 3 days it had more than 15K comments and 1.4K comments.

To begin with, OP shares that a week after her mom died, she put a request in the system for 2 weeks off. Additionally, in the email, she explained that she would be out of town for the funeral, and in the program, her requested days off were confirmed. Well, about one month later, she got called into the manager’s office just to be told that her weeks off were canceled due to them being understaffed.

This news, obviously, was shocking and despite the woman explaining that she needs these days off for her family, the manager kept repeating that she also needed to understand them. After a heated conversation, OP just told the manager that she is leaving for the funeral even if she will be fired. However, the author shares that she is lost as the job pays well compared to others.

Community members shared various suggestions on how to deal with this situation and discussed the insanity of the company’s idea that one’s mom’s funeral can be optional. “OP needs to send a very clear email stating that they are NOT leaving the job, are leaving for some previously approved PTO time, and will be returning on X date,” one user wrote. “Staffing issues are sure to get better by letting people go,” another added.

Image credits: Lisa Fotios (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda got in touch with Deb Falzoi, who is the founder of Dignity Together, End Workplace Abuse and host of the “Screw the Hierarchy” podcast. She kindly agreed to share her professional insights about what kind of approach HR can take in such a situation, advice for effective communications and employees who had their time off denied.

“HR can take a human-centered approach to all of its policies and practices,” she starts. Speaking about exactly this situation, it was not only the manager’s responsibility, not the employee’s, to ensure adequate staffing, but it also was a violation of trust to cancel their time off and add even more stress around the death of a parent.

Moreover, she emphasizes that when managers fail employees, HR should have a clear reporting policy. Unfortunately, but too often, HR puts company liability over employee well- being and their work culture. “This priority leads to adding another layer of betrayal — betrayal from the employer — when employees already feel backstabbed by their managers.”

Now, Deb highlights that when it comes to personal and family issues, managers should put their employees and their well-being first. Employers should have clear and fair bereavement policies and when they have approved time off, they should uphold their decisions.

And finally, the founder shares that if an employee has a legitimate and pressing need for time off but the manager denies it without a strong business reason, and Deb notes that understaffing is not a strong business reason, the employee should consider if their manager deserves them. 

“If the employee feels dehumanized and unsupported more than built up and accomplished, the toxic work culture will likely chip away at their self-worth. My advice in these situations is to build up a safety net (another job, another source of income, recuperation time, starting a business, or another plan) to get in a situation where you can feel valued. Like any other relationship, feeling supported at work matters,” the expert states.

Folks online backed the woman up and shared different options to deal with the situation

Yes, you were absolutely right, Apple Event 2023 took place yesterday, where Tim Cook presented the iPhone 15 with the long-awaited USB-C connector, a new version of the Apple Watch and some more interesting things. A cult event, in general. And the world reacted to it with numerous memes and posts, so please feel free to watch the selection of the best ones collected by Bored Panda.

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The tradition of grandiose Apple presentations goes back more than two decades - to the era of Steve Jobs. Though if the co-founder of the company was probably one of the greatest speakers in the modern history of humanity, and each presentation truly became a work of art, then Mr. Cook, with all due respect to him, is inferior to his predecessor as a presenter and showman. However, this in no way diminishes the quality of the products that Apple proudly presents every year.

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I wonder, by the way, if anyone has done a kind of quiz - to guess the year and model of the iPhone based on random frames from the presentation! The guys from Cupertino have found their signature, recognizable style of presentation, and adhere to the same tactics year after year. Which, however, invariably brings them overwhelming success. Even though, for example, USB-C appeared on Android smartphones about ten years ago. The ability to present even a familiar technology as a unique feature is another strong point of Apple. No sarcasm, really.

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The so-called "Clarke's Third Law", formulated many years ago by one of the greatest sci-fi writers of all time, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, states: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Well, Apple adds another signature pinch of magic here - remember how in the fairy tale about Cinderella, the carriage turned into a pumpkin at the twelfth stroke of the tower clock? Just like with a wave of a magic wand, previous versions of the iPhone, already completely monstrous in their technical stuffing, instantly turn into junk. And this is also the subject of many memes by netizens from here, there and everywhere.

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And yet, according to recent Forbes statistics, iPhones occupy the first four places among the best-selling smartphones of 2023 - and now, after the Apple Event 2023, they will perhaps occupy more than half of the top ten. And this, you see, means something! At the end of the day, the huge number of memes and similar reactions only confirms the enormous popularity of the company and its products. So now please enjoy these memes, maybe add your own in the comments below - and in the meantime I’ll go line up at the store for the iPhone 15...

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And now the skill of cooking deliciously is gradually moving from the category of must have to the category of cool, but still a hobby. There is food delivery nowadays, there are many dineries and semi-finished products, according to the instructions on the cover of which even the most notorious culinary Muggle can make a decent meal. So should we teach children to cook or not? The user u/itsjustonemeal, the author of the story we’ll tell you today, has her own point of view on this issue.

The author of the post is a mom of 2 teenage sons and she thinks it’s important to teach them both cooking

Image credits: Kampus Production (not the actual photo)

The eldest son is a passionate home cook while his younger brother isn’t that interested in it

Image credits: u/itsjustonemeal

The boy recently even started asking his brother to make him a snack, and the mom took it as a sign from above

Image credits: Darcay Lawrey (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/itsjustonemeal

So starting from now, the younger son has a task to cook for the whole family one day a week

Image credits: Kampus Production (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/itsjustonemeal

The boy, however, complained to his grandma and she criticized the author harshly, claiming she’d gone too far with this ‘punishment’

So, the Original Poster (OP) has two sons, 17-year-old Adam and James, who is 2 years younger. And if the eldest of the boys showed a noticeable interest in cooking from an early age, and by now he happily cooks for the whole family two or three times a week, then James turned out to be quite indifferent to the culinary art.

No, this does not mean that the teen doesn’t get which way to approach the kitchen table and doesn’t even know how to make himself a sandwich. It’s just that he was never interested in it and, in the author’s own words, James would rather grab an apple than cook something for himself.

Previously, this did not particularly worry the mom, but a few months ago she noticed how James began to clearly abuse his older brother’s penchant for cooking, repeatedly asking him to cook him some kind of a snack. The woman asked her son why he didn’t make something for himself, to which he objected that Adam was simply a much better cook, and his results were always faster and tastier.

The original poster says that she took this as a sign from above, and decided that from now on James would cook for the whole family one day a week. Nothing complicated, like the OP says, just regular food. For example, recently, as she recalls, the teen made grilled cheese sandwiches, a salad and tomato soup, with a side of cut strawberries. Mom, for her part, helps the son with the meal planning and is always ready to help.

Not that James was enthusiastic about this innovation, but the OP explained to him that cooking is a life important skill and ‘feeding yourself isn’t optional.’ However, at the first opportunity, the boy complained to his grandma, the OP’s mother, and she criticized the daughter heavily, claiming that she had gone too far with this “punishment.”

In turn, the author is sincerely confident that this is not a punishment, but simply a change in lifestyle, with the goal of teaching her son the basics of cooking, but now she is tormented by remorse that she is a terrible mother. In her defense, the OP recalls that her husband fully supported her in this endeavor, while the OP’s own brother, who was raised by their mom, does not know how to cook at all, and has “lived on takeout” all his adult life. So the woman decided to ask for advice and support online.

Image credits: Askar Abayev (not the actual photo)

“Yes, in recent decades, cooking has really become an art, and many people feel completely normal and live happily, completely unable to cook anything more complicated than a sandwich,” says Roman Sardarian, a chef from Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment on this story. “On the other hand, it’s still an incredibly useful skill, even if we’re talking about making, let’s just say, a dozen basic meals. After all, being able to fry an egg or make a simple soup, I think, can always come in handy.”

“As for the situation described, I am sincerely convinced that cooking is an art and it requires talent and sincere passion for one’s business. Which, apparently, this woman’s eldest son has. But if the youngest of the boys has some time to periodically make simple dishes for the whole family, he will develop skills that will definitely be useful in the future. They certainly will not turn out to be superfluous,” Roman is almost sure.

Most commenters, in fact, completely sided with the original poster, unlike her mother, arguing that cooking is an incredibly important life skill, and that she is thereby trying to develop the habit of taking care of himself in her youngest son. Which is also of crucial importance in the future. “Weaponized incompetency is not acceptable. When he grows up and has a partner, they’ll be very glad that you taught him this lesson,” one of the commenters aptly wrote.

Also, folks in the comments are wondering what the teen would do if he moved out for college. As for the OP’s mother’s opinion, commenters sincerely advise not to pay much attention to this. “She sounds like an old-school misogynist who thinks it’s inappropriate to raise boys to be anything but utterly incompetent in every single domestic task,” someone in the comments reasonably added. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this case?

Meanwhile the commenters backed the mom, stating that she’s just teaching her son to take care of himself and the cooking skill would definitely come in handy some day

Sure, the fact that you are growing up in the same environment can be a good thing, allowing you to understand each other better. On the other hand, constantly being together when you are trying to figure yourself out can create tensions and rivalries that damage the connection.

The siblings in this story are suffering from this tension, too. The teenage sister seems to resent her older brother for taking up space in their family home and acts hostile towards him. The brother is not happy with her behavior, so he decides to teach her a lesson. What ensues is a payback story that he shared on the petty revenge subreddit.

Having a sibling can be annoying sometimes

Image credits: varyapigu (not the actual photo)

The following story about one brother’s experience is a testament to that

Image credits: damirkhabirov (not the actual photo)

Image source: PatientCurrency8868

When commenting on the situation to Bored Panda, the brother didn’t want to elaborate too much. He mentioned that he was close to his sister before moving out and remained “somewhat close” after he left. They still talk now, so it seems the situation didn’t drastically affect their relationship.

The brother also identified the reason why he got his sister the technology he didn’t have in the first place. He said it was because it was “pretty low range and cheap.”

He also noted that his parents are not worried about the situation. They think it’s their relationship and their own business to take care of.

Living with your parents is pretty common and shouldn’t be looked down upon

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

The sister seems to have a dated perception of early adulthood. Living with your family until your early thirties is pretty common these days. In fact, one in three of US adults aged 18–34 are living with their parents.

For many, the reasons are related to their economic situation. A lot of young people wish to get a stable job and get their career going before settling down and starting a family. This requires saving up, and what better way to do it than living together with your parents? So, the brother’s move is understandable.

In Europe, the numbers are even higher. In France, over 40% of young adults live with their parents, in Spain, the number is above 60%, and in Italy it’s over 70%. This relates to cultural aspects, as in Europe it is more acceptable to live with your parents until you find your footing in the real world.

Either way, the sister will soon come of age and be put in a position where she will have to navigate the pressures of adulthood herself. Maybe then she will realize it’s not as easy as it seems.

Many commentators applauded the brother’s decision

Some also shares similar stories that happened to them